DRINKING WATER

GettyImages-157742535 molecule pfas Custom Tank Designs That Actively Manage PFAS Mass Transfer Zone (MTZ) — And Why It Matters More Than Ever

As utilities prepare for the pending 4-ppt PFAS drinking water MCL, many are discovering that legacy lead/lag designs—workhorses for decades when treating contaminants in the ppm and ppb range—simply are not optimized for the parts per trillion-level (ppt) precision PFAS demands.

DRINKING WATER CASE STUDIES AND WHITE PAPERS

  • What You Need To Know About Mixed Oxidant Solution

    The main component of mixed oxidant solution (MOS) is chlorine and its derivatives hypochlorite and hypochlorous acid (ClO−, HClO). It also contains trace amounts of other chlor-oxygen species which work synergistically with the hypochlorite/hypochlorous acid to improve efficacy and performance. MOS is made from brine (salt) and energy, and is used for disinfecting, sanitizing and reducing the risk of infection due to pathogenic microorganisms in water and in other applications. It is particularly useful for customers who have specific challenges such as controlling biofilm or reducing disinfection byproducts exacerbated by biofilms.

  • Geoinfo Services Designs A Low-Carbon Water System To Provide Clean, 24/7 Service To One Of India's Holiest Cities

    In this case study, read about a network design that reduced energy use while improving health and quality of life for one of India's holiest cities. 

  • What To Know About Water Quality Analysis For Reverse Osmosis

    Reverse osmosis (RO) has become a widely utilized treatment process for diverse applications such as medical and laboratory research, desalination, and treatment of industrial wastewater and municipal water/wastewater. Because of its widespread use and technically advanced nature, a variety of quality parameters should be monitored by those treatment operators who utilize it.

  • Membrane Module Pilot Test In North Dakota

    Toray UF membrane modules were piloted over a fifteen-week period to help service the growing demand for clean water in southwest North Dakota. The outcome, as part of the Southwest Pipeline Project (SWPP), would be construction of the Oliver-Mercer-North Dunn (OMND) Water Treatment Plant.

  • Meeting The Challenge For Remote Leak Pinpointing

    Ranhill SAJ Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Ranhill Holdings Berhad, is an integrated water supply company in Malaysia, involved in the process of water treatment and distribution of treated water to consumers right up to billing and collection. It serves around 3.1 million population and manages 22,175 km of pipes over an area of approximately 19,000k m².

  • Common LT2 Compliance Mistakes (And How To Avoid Them)

    Water systems are complex, and many things can go awry that can cause a once-compliant plant to fall out of compliance or cause a compliance solution to fail at startup.

  • Moving Toward Sustainability: Perfecting Wastewater Pretreatment For Direct Potable Reuse

    This article will explain why pre-treatment is so important to direct potable reuse and the most important aspects of pre-treatment design.

  • Utility Improves Data Accuracy, Customer Service With Advanced Metering Analytics

    Bethpage Water District’s (New York) outdated water metering system led to customer service concerns, such as a slow response time for detecting leaks and insufficient data for billing inquiries. By installing new meters and advanced metering analytics software, the district increased visibility into its operations, resulting in greater revenue and improved customer service.

  • The Iron Bowl And Your Water Pipe – Neither Ever Disappoints

    The primary reason the Iron Bowl is so appropriately named is that it’s a tough game, played by tough men, fighting with toughness and resilience for their teams and universities, and their fans care perhaps even more. Tough, hard-hitting, durable, resilient. All describe both the players in the Iron Bowl and the performance of ductile iron pipe.

  • Smyrna, GA, Gets Ahead Of Lead

    Smyrna, GA saves millions of dollars and becomes the “poster child” of successful LCRR compliance.

DRINKING WATER APPLICATION NOTES

  • Solution For Algae Blooms
    12/17/2015

    Harmsco® Filtration Products is pleased to offer a solution to the ever increasing blue-algae blooms in water sources. A multi-barrier approach is necessary to physically remove intact (algae and cyanobacteria) before they rupture in the treatment process and then remove extracellular cyanobacteria through adsorption.

  • Pipe Repair On A Budget
    3/7/2014

    A new pipe-repair solution promises to save time and money, while also being sustainable, long-lasting, fully scalable, and safe for workers.

  • Protection Of Membrane Systems Utilized For Municipal Water
    12/1/2020

    As water scarcity issues around the world become more acute, more municipalities are having to turn to alternative water sources for potable water supplies. Also, many municipalities in coastal areas are seeing the quality of their water sources degrade as sea water intrusion occurs.

  • Reduced Bore Electromagnetic Flowmeter
    10/29/2021

    Being able to accurately measure both the quantity and rate of water passing through a water distribution system is crucial to gain an informed understanding of overall efficiency. As such, achieving a measurement that is exact as possible can have a significant impact on key areas. This includes supply planning, maintenance, resource deployment, leakage detection and the overall environment.

  • Optimizing Brine Flow In A Geothermal Power Plant
    1/27/2022

    Different flow meter technologies were used in this geothermal power plant to monitor and measure brine. However, these traditional technologies failed. That’s where Panametrics PT900 Portable Ultrasonic Flowmeter was able to help.

  • Water Determination In Liquefied Petroleum Gas Using GC BID And Ionic Liquid Column Watercol™
    6/28/2018

    Water in petrochemical feedstocks can cause problems for processors. Freezing of pipe lines and valves and poisoning of expensive catalysts are just a few examples.

  • Secret To Disinfection Monitoring For High Chlorine Residual Wastewater Applications
    8/2/2015

    Some wastewater applications require chlorine residuals greater than can be effectively monitored using DPD due to the oxidation of the Wurster dye to a colorless Imine. Such applications include industrial wastewater processes that inherently have a high chlorine demand thereby requiring a more robust monitoring method.

  • Scrubber Application
    1/27/2022

    This customer supplies district heating and electricity for the region of Sønderborg. For one of their waste applications a MAG meter failed within 6 months, and was successfully replaced with a Panametrics Aquatrans AT600.

  • Flexible Expansion Joints Provide Protection For Pipelines Subject To Subtle Or Sudden Movement
    12/7/2020

    Flex-Tend flexible expansion joints have a proven record of providing protection for pipelines subject to subtle or sudden movement. As with all products used in the water and wastewater industry, protection is optimized with the selection of the proper assembly incorporated into a sound design. This paper is intended to provide assistance in both of these areas.

  • (E)-2-Nonenal In Beer
    4/5/2015

    Numerous compounds contribute to changes in beer flavor as it becomes stale. One of these compounds, (E)-2-nonenal, has been investigated as a major source of the papery/cardboard flavor that develops in aged beer.

DRINKING WATER PRODUCTS

The launch of the world’s first ready-to-use reagent packages for photometric analysis in the 1960’s had a substantial effect on water analysis. Today Hach® TNTplus® Vial Tests and photometers are indispensable elements of both process control and compliance monitoring.

Recordall® Fire Hydrant Meters are designed for use in measuring potable cold water from a fire hydrant or other non-permanent installation where flow is in one direction.

The WATERFLUX ,3300 is an electromagnetic flowmeter (EMF) for demanding water applications and custody transfer operations (MID MI-001, OIML R49; MI-004). The high-end meter is particularly suitable for applications requiring high accuracy and extensive diagnostics. With its rectangular and reduced cross-section the EMF enables a stable measurement even at low flow rates. This way, the WATERFLUX ,3300 offers a much larger turndown ratio (1000:1) than mechanical flowmeters (e.g. turbine meters) in drinking water distribution networks.

AQUAFLOW™ SMART VALVE with integrated AMI endpoint provides two-way communication between the service location and our AquaControl™, our Cloud-based web & mobile applications, supporting either Cellular LTE-M or LoRaWAN remote connectivity.

Delivers leading-edge technology to the non-invasive switch market by facilitating accurate level measurement for oil & gas, chemical, and power generation applications.

Shelter space and the overall initial investment in analytical equipment can be expensive. The PGC5000 oven with an integrated controller offers a low initial investment solution by integrating the single board computer (SBC) directly into the PGC5000B or PGC5000C gas chromatograph ovens.

LATEST INSIGHTS ON DRINKING WATER

DRINKING WATER VIDEOS

Dr. Jamie Dewitt explains her research in Phamacology and Toxicology and why water pollution might pose a problem no matter where you are.

In this episode of Ozone Talks, host Sannel Patel takes viewers deep inside Pinnacle Ozone Solutions’ cutting-edge ozone generation technology. Joined by senior engineer Eric Francis and technician Dayton Julius, the discussion centers around the Quad Block ozone cell—a patented, modular system redefining ozone production through innovation, precision, and durability.

How researchers at UC Merced are developing a better understanding of the three sources of water upon which California depends in order to adapt to the effects of environmental changes and make better use of this most precious of our natural resources.

RIP Kitty Hach-Darrow (October 20, 1922 - June 4, 2020), co-founder of Hach Company

Check out this brief video with Greg, and industry veteran and our Product Manager for Measurement technologies, as he provides a lowdown on the new AWWA Standard covering solid-state meters which are increasingly being adopted by water utilities of all sizes.

ABOUT DRINKING WATER

In most developed countries, drinking water is regulated to ensure that it meets drinking water quality standards. In the U.S., the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administers these standards under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA)

Drinking water considerations can be divided into three core areas of concern:

  1. Source water for a community’s drinking water supply
  2. Drinking water treatment of source water
  3. Distribution of treated drinking water to consumers

Drinking Water Sources

Source water access is imperative to human survival. Sources may include groundwater from aquifers, surface water from rivers and streams and seawater through a desalination process. Direct or indirect water reuse is also growing in popularity in communities with limited access to sources of traditional surface or groundwater. 

Source water scarcity is a growing concern as populations grow and move to warmer, less aqueous climates; climatic changes take place and industrial and agricultural processes compete with the public’s need for water. The scarcity of water supply and water conservation are major focuses of the American Water Works Association.

Drinking Water Treatment

Drinking Water Treatment involves the removal of pathogens and other contaminants from source water in order to make it safe for humans to consume. Treatment of public drinking water is mandated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the U.S. Common examples of contaminants that need to be treated and removed from water before it is considered potable are microorganisms, disinfectants, disinfection byproducts, inorganic chemicals, organic chemicals and radionuclides.

There are a variety of technologies and processes that can be used for contaminant removal and the removal of pathogens to decontaminate or treat water in a drinking water treatment plant before the clean water is pumped into the water distribution system for consumption.

The first stage in treating drinking water is often called pretreatment and involves screens to remove large debris and objects from the water supply. Aeration can also be used in the pretreatment phase. By mixing air and water, unwanted gases and minerals are removed and the water improves in color, taste and odor.

The second stage in the drinking water treatment process involves coagulation and flocculation. A coagulating agent is added to the water which causes suspended particles to stick together into clumps of material called floc. In sedimentation basins, the heavier floc separates from the water supply and sinks to form sludge, allowing the less turbid water to continue through the process.

During the filtration stage, smaller particles not removed by flocculation are removed from the treated water by running the water through a series of filters. Filter media can include sand, granulated carbon or manufactured membranes. Filtration using reverse osmosis membranes is a critical component of removing salt particles where desalination is being used to treat brackish water or seawater into drinking water.

Following filtration, the water is disinfected to kill or disable any microbes or viruses that could make the consumer sick. The most traditional disinfection method for treating drinking water uses chlorine or chloramines. However, new drinking water disinfection methods are constantly coming to market. Two disinfection methods that have been gaining traction use ozone and ultra-violet (UV) light to disinfect the water supply.

Drinking Water Distribution

Drinking water distribution involves the management of flow of the treated water to the consumer. By some estimates, up to 30% of treated water fails to reach the consumer. This water, often called non-revenue water, escapes from the distribution system through leaks in pipelines and joints, and in extreme cases through water main breaks.

A public water authority manages drinking water distribution through a network of pipes, pumps and valves and monitors that flow using flow, level and pressure measurement sensors and equipment.

Water meters and metering systems such as automatic meter reading (AMR) and advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) allows a water utility to assess a consumer’s water use and charge them for the correct amount of water they have consumed.